What is VoiceOver on a Mac?

VoiceOver is the screen reader built into macOS ¹. It speaks what is on the screen, so you can find and use windows, menus, buttons and text by listening. You turn it on or off by pressing Command-F5. On a Mac with Touch ID, you can instead hold Command and quickly press Touch ID three times ². It is an accessibility feature, so people who use it are the main audience for Apple's VoiceOver guide.

The short version: VoiceOver reads the Mac to you. It is not a way to write on the Mac.

VoiceOver reads text aloud, and Dictation writes what you say

The two features are easy to confuse because both use speech, but they run in opposite directions. VoiceOver turns the text on the screen into speech. Dictation turns your speech into text, and Apple says you can speak to enter text anywhere you can type it ³.

That difference is why VoiceOver does not help you dictate a document, and Dictation does not help you hear a web page. If you want the words on the screen read to you, use VoiceOver. If you want words typed into an app, use Dictation. Voice Control is a third feature, which runs the whole Mac by voice and has its own dictation. The comparison of Dictation, Voice Control and Siri on a Mac sets the three side by side.

Apple built VoiceOver into Mac OS X Tiger in 2005

VoiceOver is not a recent add-on. Apple built it into Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger, and a Macworld article from late April 2005 reported that it starts with Command-F5 ⁴.

Apple's own guide is the reference for the current release. Its keys and menu names can change between macOS versions, so check the steps against your own screen.

About one in ten screen reader users use VoiceOver on a desktop or laptop

In WebAIM's tenth screen reader user survey, VoiceOver usage on desktop or laptop computers was 9.7 percent of respondents ⁵. The survey covers people who use screen readers, not all Mac owners, so the figure tells you about screen reader users rather than about the whole Mac market.

For a Mac owner who does not need a screen reader, VoiceOver is an optional feature that you can leave off. For someone who does need one, it is built into macOS, so no separate app is required.

It depends: VoiceOver can work with Voice Control, and Siri can switch it on

VoiceOver and Voice Control can run at the same time. Apple suggests headphones when you use Voice Control with VoiceOver, to help ensure that Voice Control hears only you ⁶.

Siri can start VoiceOver for you. Apple lists "Turn on VoiceOver" among its example requests for adjusting Mac settings ⁷. That makes Siri a way to start it without the keyboard, though it needs an internet connection ⁸, as the Siri section of the comparison explains.

What to do if you are new to VoiceOver

1. Press Command-F5 to turn VoiceOver on, or hold Command and press Touch ID three times if your Mac has it.
2. Learn the VoiceOver modifier, which is Control and Option together, or Caps Lock ⁹. The VoiceOver modifier key question explains it in full.
3. Press Control to pause the speech when you only need quiet, and press it again to resume ¹⁰.
4. Press Command-F5 again when you no longer need VoiceOver ². The steps to turn VoiceOver off cover the other routes if the shortcut does nothing.

For the steps to move around a Mac with VoiceOver, read how to use VoiceOver on a Mac. The terms used here are explained in the glossary entries for VoiceOver, Voice Control and Apple Dictation. For the wider picture on Mac speech, see our overview of dictation on Mac.